The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Dravid quickest to 9,000 runs

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Monday, Jul 03, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Dravid quickest to 9,000 runs

Special Correspondent

Kingston: Rahul Dravid, on Saturday, became the fastest batsman in the history of Test cricket to make 9,000 runs. The Indian captain brought up the landmark in his 176th innings — one less than the previous holder Brian Lara — when he drove Pedro Collins through cover to move from 16 to 20.

Dravid had entered the fourth Test at Sabina Park with 8,900 runs from 174 innings in 103 Tests. He made 81 in India's first innings. The 33-year-old was also the third quickest to 8,000 Test runs (158 innings). The record belongs to Sachin Tendulkar, who achieved it in 154 innings.

Only Lara (11,494 including the first innings), Allan Border (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,927), Tendulkar (10,469), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) have made more Test runs. Dravid went past Graham Gooch's mark of 8,900 in the first innings of the fourth Test to move from joint to sole sixth in the list of all-time highest run-getters.

"He's a champion," off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said of his skipper. "He's the kind of batsman everyone will love to have in the side. He's a special player, and every time you need someone to stay at the wicket and get runs, he does it."

The fastest five to cross 9,000: (Read as Name, Innings, Not Out, Highest score): R. Dravid (Ind) 176, 23, 270; B. Lara (WI) 177, 6, 375; S. Tendulkar (Ind) 179, 17, 217; S. Gavaskar (Ind) 192, 16, 236*; A. Border (Aus) 207, 38, 205.